


Last Time

by Cupcakemolotov



Series: come alive [33]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bill Isn’t Dead, F/M, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, Not Bonnie friendly, Not Elena friendly, Prom Night, Suggested Future Torture, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 07:41:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14444562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupcakemolotov/pseuds/Cupcakemolotov
Summary: After a day spent finalizing last minute details and wrangling a dress from Klaus, the last person Caroline expected to see was her dad. That he’s brought friends and vervain really, really sucks.





	Last Time

Caroline curled her knees a little closer to her chest as the truck finally came to a stop. She was furious, monster crawling along her skin; her throat burned, her gums ached, but she hadn’t let a single tear fall. Dawn was close, and she glared at her bare hand with clenched teeth.

Hadn’t it been just hours ago she was twirling around her room with a little smile, indulging in a momentary rush of girlish delight? She loved this dress. Loved how it made her feel.

Now it was ruined.

She’d been so stunned to see her Dad, had all but rushed down the steps with vampire speed. He’d offered her a corsage and kissed her cheek, and told her she was beautiful. Beaming, she’d never watched for the betrayal. Never saw the vervain needle until it was too late.

“It’ll be alright honey,” he’d promised when she woke, skirts a mess around her legs. They’d placed her in a cage bolted to the back of a truck bed, and covered it with tarps. She’d been forced to grip the spelled iron to balance as they moved quickly along dirt roads, and her hands had blistered painfully.

Worse had been the vervain water. They’d sprayed down the cage and running mat down. Every drop on her skin burned like acid, and she’d hunched over, resting her weight on the balls of her feet to try avoid most of the mud and water.

She didn’t look up when the tarps were removed, water splashing raining across raw skin. She let go of the bars, but kept her face hidden in her knees.

If she’d been human, her calve muscles would have burned from exertion, but as a vampire she felt nothing.

“Honey, I just need you to show them what you showed me.”

Blinking away the darkness, Caroline looked up and stared at her dad. “Don’t do this.”

“I’ll be alright,” Bill promised. “They just need proof.”

Caroline didn’t have time to ask anymore questions as buckets of water were tossed at her from each side. She screamed, eyes squeezing tightly shut as cured tight into herself to protect her face. It did little good. Her skirts were soaked, water seeping through the intricate beading, and she shuddered in agony.

“Care-bear,” Bill said softly. “Just show them your face.”

She wanted to hurt them. But she knew that if she let a single vampire feature free this would go so much worse. Trembling, she peered out of the bars, everything burning.

“See,” Bill told them men who were careful to hide in the shadows. “She has control.”

“But will she help us?”

Caroline held in a snort. Trying to hold perfectly still, she ground her teeth as her dad watched her. “Let me go.”

Bill licked his lips,voice soothing when he spoke. “Caroline - do you remember how I told you that you were one of the good ones?”

She didn’t trust herself to speak. Her head dipped a hair and he smiled.

“There are vampires who are bad, baby. We need your help to kill them.”

Everything inside her rebelled. She didn’t kill people. And vampires were people, even Damon, though she wouldn’t shed a year if Klaus ate him.

She swallowed hard and wondered how long it would be until someone noticed she was gone. It’d been a few hours, and she maybe she wasn’t completely delusional to hope that Klaus would try find a way to see her in this dress. Since she’d badgered him into letting her borrow it.

“Dad, you need to let me go. My friends will notice I’m missing. They’ll look for me.”

“Bonnie and Elena? They know you’re with me.”

“What?” Caroline whispered.

“I needed to make sure that you were still you. You live with so much temptation, it’s so easy to give in.” Bill said gently, kindly. “They told me about Tyler. I’m sorry, honey. I know you cared about him. But now that we know about the white oak stake, there is a chance that we can kill him and end this.”

“That would kill me too,” she whispered in horror.

“Sometimes sacrifices need to be made,” a voice murmured from behind her.

“I’m not a killer.”

“Other vampires aren’t real people honey, they’re not like you. They haven’t kept their souls.”

Curling tight around her knees, and trying to ignore the biting pain of the drying vervain, she shuddered out a breath. “No.”

“Care-bear…”

She knew she wasn’t going to make it out if this cage. Not unless she agreed to this, but she couldn’t do it. Not after today. So instead, she squared her shoulders and stared Bill down.

“Klaus is my friend.”

Bill stared at her with eyes dark with emotions she couldn’t read. She swallowed hard, flinched at the burn of her clothes moving against her skin and licked her lips. She wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t become his pet monster.

“He’s never asked me to kill anyone,” she said flatly at her dad, and tried to ignore the muttering around her. “Walk away, Dad. He’s not going to let anyone who knows about the stake live. Please, walk away.”

“He won’t know,” another voice murmured.

Caroline heard the slosh of water in a bucket and refused to tremble. Instead she just watched at Bill, pleaded with her eyes. Run. Just run.

“Ah, but unlike her other so-called friends, I’m quite a bit more invested in her safety,” soft, dangerous words cut into air. “I’d put that bucket down if you’d prefer a quick death, mate.”

Caroline looked at away from her dad, caught Klaus’ eyes as they bled yellow. “Klaus.”

“I’ll be with you in a moment, sweetheart.”

“Not my Dad,” she ordered. She ignored her peeling skin and lunged to her knees and stared at him with eyes she refused to let water at the razor sharp pain. Gripping those iron bars, she repeated herself. “Not my Dad.”

The vervain water hit her straight in the back. She screamed, hunching reflexively and gritted her teeth until bone creaked in her jaw. She didn’t look up as she heard Klaus tearing through them. The fresh scent of blood was too much for her. Her fangs pushed free, and she hissed, fingers fisting as she struggled for control that wasn’t coming. She was in too much pain, needed blood too badly.

The truck shook and her head snapped up, teeth bared and Klaus looked at her, all wild nightmare. Crouching down, he reached for the bars trapping her. His eyes narrowed at the burn, and Caroline watched his muscles bunch along his forearms as he ripped the front of the cage away.

Klaus held out his hands, his eyes telling her knowing moving would hurt. Caroline hesitated. Her dress was ruined skin blistered and raw, and her monster on full display.

“Come on, love. I won’t let you hurt him,” his eyes flared, veins stark around his eyes. “Not until you’re healed, at least.”

She tried not to cry as she moved, each drag of her dress beyond painful. Klaus made a noise low in his chest, as he swiftly lifted her and dropped off of the truck. A breath later and he’d pulled the dress apart beneath his hands with one quick tug. Caroline arched away from the pain of it, bare feet digging into the dirt and she hissed at him, curling her hands in his shirt as she tried to breathe.

“I know,” Klaus soothed. He held a wrist to her mouth, which she gripped tightly and bit into without any additional prompting. “Take what you need, Caroline. There is plenty of blood here.”

She felt his attention shift, the laser of his fury directed behind her. “I need to rinse the vervain from her skin.”

There was silence and then the unexpected sounds of Bill walking away. Caroline gripped Klaus’ wrist tighter, tried to hold back the rush of tears. She blinked rapidly, and he went motionless as the few she couldn’t stop splashed on his skin.

“Sweetheart…”

She released him, wiping her eyes furiously. His knuckles curved under her chin, and urged her to look at him. She glanced up warily, but there was no pity in the truck lights; just that wildness that left her aching.

“Tell me why he lives.”

“He’s my Dad,” she whispered. Klaus never blinked, didn’t look away as Bill approached, just studied her with a predator’s gaze.

“That’s close enough.”

Her dad stopped, and she shivered in the air.

“The vervain needs to be washed off,” Klaus said at last. “You need to remove the rest of your clothes.”

Caroline herself, but reached determinedly for the band of her strapless bra. She winced at the tug of wet fabric against her skin. Klaus reached between them and snapped the fabric, tossing it to the side.

“Tell my Dad to turn around,” she muttered as she hesitated on her panties. Klaus’ gaze jumped over her shoulder and she heard bone and clothes shift, the dirt beneath Bill’s feet shift. Caroline followed Klaus’ example and just tore the seamless panties free.

Klaus stepped around her for a moment and came back with two large water bottles, a rag and a small towel. Still silent, he used the bottle to wet the rag and carefully wiped her face. The rest he poured over her shoulders and breasts; careful to rinse her back clear.

“How many pins do you have in your hair?”

“Fewer than when this started,” Caroline muttered, before tilting her head to start fishing for them. Klaus caught her wrists and pulled her already burning fingers from her ruined updo.

Silent, she dropped her chin and tried to ignore her nakedness and the careful way his hands tangled in her hair. Her scalp was burning, and she knew each touch had to sting, but he was so silent. Once he was satisfied, he carefully poured the other water bottle through the vervain and hair spray disaster of her hair.

Caroline patted herself dry with the offered towel, rang out her hair as best she could. Biting her lip, she wrapped her arms around her chest. A moment later and Klaus stepped back in front of her and peeled off his shirt. She blinked and then took it it with a trembling hand, tugging it on quickly and not caring about the blood splatter.

Now what?” Her voice was little more than a rasp and she cleared her throat.

“That depends on you,” Klaus said, fingers sliding into his pockets as he watched her with a glittering intensity.

“Okay,” she held her arms away from her sides, biting her lip so it wouldn’t wobble. “I need a hug.”

Caroline watched his muscles go rigid, tattoos flexing in the light. He stared at her for a long moment, eyes dark and strangely blank before he stepped forward and let her press against the warm skin of his chest. She let her hands dig into his back, pressed her cheek to his shoulder with a shuddery breath.

“I’m supposed to be at prom.”

“I know.”

She almost smiled at the carefully mild of his voice, the dry reminder of their morning. Lifting her head, she studied his face, not quite willing to step away just yet. “How’d you know I was missing?”

He tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear, something violent crawling through his gaze. “Your mom.”

Caroline’s eyes went wide. “Mom?”

Klaus dug into his pocket, pulled out a cellphone. He swiped it open and looked down. Once it started ringing, he handed it to her.

“Did you find her?”

“Mom?”

A shuddering breath. “Caroline.”

“I’m okay.”

“Did Klaus eat him?”

She jerked, nearly dropping the phone. “What? Mom!”

“I don’t like _him_ , but everything has a use. You tell Bill I expect him at my office in the morning, Caroline. And you let that murdering monster make whatever threats he wants, because I’m going to make him wish Klaus had killed him.”

“Delighted to,” Klaus murmured.

Caroline hung up after more promises and only then did she finally turned to face Bill. He watched her with a blank face, his eyes too dark to read. Klaus was a hot line against her spine, and she let that brace her.

“Mom’s probably going to shoot you,” Caroline muttered, crossing her arms. She set her chin and took a careful breath. “You deserve it.”

“Care…”

She held up a hand and squared her shoulders. “I love you, Dad. But we’re done. I think it’s probably best you stay away from us. I don’t want to have to kill you.”

“You won’t have to, sweetheart. Bill Forbes will live a very long life should he attempt to contact you ever again.”

The threat behind Klaus words had her biting her lip. Bill looked over her shoulder and blaunched. She almost turned to look too.“

“Don’t make mom look for you,” Caroline said instead. “That’ll just make it worse.”

“If you start driving you might make your appointment,” Klaus told him. “She’ll need her daylight ring back.”

Caroline said nothing until Bill had pulled back onto the road, fiddling with her ring now that it was just her and Klaus. Without Bill there it was unnerving wearing nothing but his shirt. A low, agonized moan interrupted her uncertainty and her peered into the dark.

“You didn’t kill them?”

Klaus laughed and the sound startled her into looking back up at him. He smiled with fangs on full display. “They’ll get around to it in a few hours.”

“How are we getting out of here?” She asked instead of commenting. Klaus closed the small distance between them, cupped her face.

“I heard you.”

She went still under his touch, gaze turning wary. His smile widened, dimples becoming more visible with the dawn light as the sun rose. But he was still shadowed, beard flecked with blood.

“Klaus…”

“Oh no sweetheart,” Klaus chided. His thumbs ran along her cheekbones, something nearly feral and claiming crawling through his gaze. “They offered you the same deal as your friends, and you turned it down. Burning from vervain, starving for blood and you picked me.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Caroline grumped, eyes narrowed. “I thought we were friends?”

He kissed her forehead, lips curling as he pulled away. “We’ll never be just friends.”

She parted her lips to retort when he suddenly bent and picked her up bridal style. She settled against his chest with a gasp, and she was relieved when his shirt stayed pinned by his arm and her knees.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you home.”

“We’re going to flash like this?”

“I thought we’d take our time, enjoy the morning,” his head tilted, gaze catching hers. “Give you time to think.”

About what her dad had done, that Bonnie and Elena had known. That they’d told Bill about the stake, that others might know now. There would be hell to pay when they arrived back at Mystic Falls. He was giving her time to process.

That she’d chosen him.

If only she was wearing actual clothes.

Crossing her arms, she slumped against him with a sigh. “This is ridiculous.”

“I’m enjoying myself,” he mused. “Just think sweetheart, this will give you a few hours to figure out how to keep me from eating your friends. The Salvatore’s are already dead men walking, but perhaps I’ll let them watch Elena bleed out. It’s been some time since I’ve roped someone in their intestines, I’d had to lose my touch. Now the little witch might take a bit more effort, but she is rather delicate. A little blood, a wrench of her neck and she could join Elena in a study if her guts.”

Caring jabbed him with a nail, glowered up at him. “No.”

He lifted her until their noses were nearly touched. “They gave my family’s weakness to hunters, sold you out and nearly got you killed. I have no reason to show mercy.”

“They’re my friends.”

“But you’re not theirs.”

His blunt words hurt and she sighed, letting him lower her back to his shoulder before he started walking again. Caroline was silent for a long time before speaking as she tried to work through her feelings.

“They’re the only people left who knew human Caroline and liked her.”

“Then tell me about her,” He offered, voice a rumble beneath her ear.

“You wouldn’t have cared for her,” Caroline dismissed. “I make a much better vampire.”

A displeased growl, and his hand squeezed her thigh. “Try me. How much further down the rabbit hole can you fall?”

She fiddled with the cuffs of his shirt. She knew as far as Klaus was concerned, tonight she’d picked sides. She wasn’t completely certain he was wrong. She didn’t know where this was going but tonight he’d chosen to save her and she’d chosen not to betray him.

Licking her lips, Caroline started to talk. She slowly offered little things about her life, granting him more when he didn’t scoff or laugh. She talked until the sun had truly broken the horizon and turned the landscape brilliant with daylight. She spoke until she fell asleep, the night before finally catching up with her.


End file.
